Writing, Self-Publishing, Book Marketing

All stories are about people, even when they are about elephants. It is the being — the feeling and personality — inspired through imagination and a creative collectiveness of what surrounds us that develops a character. And the stories that move us, the ones you and I hold onto, have found the art of the character in all its aspects.

Personalities are complex. They are dimensional. A character needs to reach the reader on a level of understanding, connectivity and admiration for the journey. 

Goal 1: Avoid stereotypes. Preplan your character’s attributes and allow them to develop throughout your storyline. Flat and predictable personalities will lead to uninteresting characters that move at a rocky pace. As the writer, you need to know your characters before you place them in motion within your story.

Goal 2: Make your characters 3-D. (And I mean without the psychedelic glasses). A three-dimensional character has an inside and an outside. On the inside, a well-written character is built of motivating forces, hopes, fears and ethics that drive their inner life. On the outside, each character will show habits, mannerisms, personality traits, styles and tendencies visible to other characters as well as the reader. Begin writing your characters, starting with their inner selves and extending to their outer selves.

Goal 3: Define your Character Arc. This is the path of personal growth a character undergoes in a story in which he/she wrestles with and overcomes a limitation; transcending their own flaws to do something great. Great can be anything, but it is often the quietest and more personal of moments that define us. The ones in which we overcome our own limitations and rise towards something more. The arc keeps the flow of tension and conflict moving throughout the story.

As writers, we need to establish a relationship with our characters — get to know them and make them family. Understand what makes them who they are and how that fits in with the role they will play. The inner workings, or behind the scenes, of your writing will mirror the outer story.

You may learn about your characters simply by writing about them, whether those notes and ideas are included in your story or not. Develop your characters before their debut — each imperfection and quirk adds realness and a human element identifiable by readers.

Now let’s dig a little deeper… Tomorrow: Writing Exercises to Bring Out the Character in Your Characters

–Melissa